The Kent Global Leadership Program on Conflict Resolution, the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, and the International Conflict Resolution Specialization present:
Crisis in Sri Lanka: Obstacles, Opportunities, and the Role of US Policy
Introduced by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Director, Kent Global Leadership Program on Conflict Resolution; Arnold A. Saltzman Professor of Practice, International and Public Affairs; Director, International Conflict Resolution Specialization
Moderated by Page Fortna, Harold Brown Professor of U.S. Foreign and Security Policy, Department of Political Science, Columbia University
Panelists:
Dr. Shanta Devarajan, Professor of the Practice of Development at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service; Former Acting Chief Economist of the World Bank Group
Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, founding Executive Director of the Sri Lanka Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA); Board Member of the Sri Lanka Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International and Strategic Studies
Dr. Sonali Deraniyagala, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs, SIPA; Lecturer in Economics, South Asia Institute, SOAS University of London
Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson, Group Chief Executive Officer, Hemas Holdings PLC
Thursday, December 1, 2022
10:00am-12:00pm
On Zoom
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Sri Lanka, the island-nation known as the ‘Permanent Aircraft Carrier in the Indian Ocean’, is reeling under an unprecedented economic crisis. Caused by a perfect storm of long-term sovereign debt, the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation in advanced economies, a strong dollar, high commodity prices, the war in Ukraine, and internal political dynamics, Sri Lanka was the first chip to fall in what is likely to be a series of seismic post-pandemic shocks for developing economies for years to come. This panel will offer a comprehensive, multi-sectoral look at the current crisis in Sri Lanka and will discuss a nuanced approach to US policy towards the strategically significant nation and the broader Indian Ocean region.
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At this historical juncture of heightened geopolitical competition, in which geography puts Sri Lanka in a strategic position, the Kent Global Leadership Program on Conflict Resolution at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs is proud to host a panel of Sri Lankan experts that will discuss these complexities for the benefit of the Columbia community and the broader public.
The panel will offer a comprehensive, multi-sectoral look at the current crisis in Sri Lanka and will discuss a nuanced approach to US policy towards the strategically significant nation and the broader Indian Ocean region.
